Religion has been put out of existence, so there are no churches, mosques, or synagogues. There are also no priests and reverends because there is no need for them.
Death is also treated very differently. People are no longer buried, but they are put back into the system by being tossed into a big burning pit. Ford is the almighty controller. They don’t believe in an afterlife because their life on Earth is meant to be perfect.
The story is based around three main characters; Bernard Marx who works in the psychology bureau, Lenina Crowne who works in the Hatchery, and John the Savage who lives in the savage reservation in Malpais. Basically, Bernard goes to the savage reservation and brings John back to London. The reason for him bringing John was increase his own personal status. This shows he will do anything which will benefit himself. Once there he becomes famous by showing John off. Eventually John realises that the ‘ Brave New World ’ is very different from what he was told by his mother, Linda. Therefore, he goes to live by himself in a lighthouse. In the end, John hangs himself, and Bernard gets banished to Iceland for his general attitude.
Bernard Marx possesses human characteristics in a non-human world. He has both several good and negative points. Due to the fact that he is an Alpha Plus he is very intelligent, and creative. He likes to do things his own way, but society forbids him to do so. However, he is still very anti-social. Marx doesn’t fit into any of the 5 classes. But, so as to be fair, we can say that he would be a cross between an Alpha Plus and a Gamma. This is because he is very intelligent ( Alpha Plus ) but he is physically underdeveloped ( Gamma ).
His humanity shows in a number of ways such as his desire to be independent and live life his own way. Here are two quotes which show this; “ Even Epsilon’s are useful!! So am I. And I damned well wish I weren’t. ” And, “ How is it that I can’t, or rather because, after all, I know quite well why I can’t – what used to be like if I could, why I were free and not enslaved by my own conditioning. “ This has a negative effect in this world where humanity is frowned upon. He knows what is right and what is wrong because he has a conscience. Unlike other people in his class, he feels emotions such as pain and jealousy. Bernard believes in monogamy and thinks that ‘ sleeping around ‘ is very wrong. After saying that, I also have to add the fact that he is only monogamous when it suits him. I think this is because of his rather weak appearance which suggests that no woman would want to sleep with him.
With his newly acquired fame ( which he gets after bringing John back to London, ) his attitude to monogamy quickly changes. To prove that, here is a quote in which is Bernard is boasting to Helmholtz; “ And I had six girls last week. One on Monday, two on Tuesday, and two more on Friday, and one on Saturday. And if I’d had the time or inclination, there were at least a dozen more who were only too anxious. ” This quote also shows that he boasts a lot which the others find annoying.
As a result of his human characteristics, he feels jealousy. He wants Lenina all to himself. But he knows he can’t have her as she wants to sleep with other men. That said, I also have to say that Lenina won’t sleep with more than one man at a time. He knows that he can’t have her so he doesn’t want anyone else to sleep with her either.
One aspect of Bernard’s negative side, which has nothing to do with the ‘ Brave New World ’, is his selfishness. A quote which shows this is during the riot when he says, “ Ford help them. ” It shows that he doesn’t want to get involved as he might get hurt. Marx initially denies any knowledge of Helmholtz or John. He is very selfish about John and Lenina when they go to London. He also treats John like a circus attraction, or even a circus monkey.
Marx is also very ambitious. As a social climber, he wants to crawl his way up to the top. Bernard has a tendency to disloyalty, shown when he is famous.
Generally, I didn’t think that Bernard was such an unpleasant character. To be honest, I quite liked him at the start of the book. However, reading the whole book has shown him in a very different light. All his positive and negative characteristics were revealed and we now know his true self. It is evident that he is very selfish and has a lot of negative characteristics. In our world, he could be passed off as an average person but there he would be considered quite differently. My final view of him is contrary to my initial prospect. I see him as an outcast and as an exploitative person. He deserves to be banished to Iceland after what he has done. “ You can’t send me, I haven’t done anything. It was the others. I swear it was the others. Oh please don’t send me to Iceland. I promise I’ll do what I ought to do. Give me another chance. Please give me another chance. I tell you it’s their fault. ”
